Combined hoist and dock



Nov. 14, 1950 A. H. JONES 2,529,943

' COMBINED HOIST AND DOCK Filed April 29, 1946 I INVEN TOR.

Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,529,948 COMBINED HOIST AND DOCK Alton H. Jones, Canandaigua, N. Y., assignor of one-half to John Bain, Palmyra, N. Y.

Application April29, 1946, Serial No. 665,817

.2 Claims.

The present invention relates to boat hoists and docks and more particularly to a combined dock and hoist for handling and housing small boats during the boating season.

If a small boat is not'lifted out of the Water at the end of each days use, it will absorb water, and at the end of the boating season may easily weigh several hundred pounds more than it did at thestart of the season. The extra weight naturally slows the boat down and requires extra power to drive the boat. A boat which is allowed to waterlog continuously, moreover, has a shorter life than a boat which is drawn out of the Water when not in use.

For these reasons, careful small boat owners usually have some form of boat hoist provided alongside their piers for lifting their boats out of the water at the end of each .days use. In the wintertime, of course, the boat is stored indoors. Such hoists as have heretofore been built for small boats, however, have not been entirely satisfactory. They consists of some form of frame-work built on concrete foundations in the water and having winches and ropes, or similar equipment, either power .or hand-operated, for lifting the boat out of the water. The hoists are subject to side sway; the have no leveling means, and the boats are tossed around more or less during raising or lowering them, risking injury to the user of the hoist, damage to the boat and its contents, and possible dumping of loose articles out of the boat into the water. The concrete foundations, moreover, especially in northern climates, are subject throughout the winter to the havoc of frost and ice. In bad seasons, the ice may actually lift the hoists off of their foundations. In any event, the foundations tend gradually to deteriorate and break up.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a combined boat-dock and hoist for small boats which is mobile, and which can be moved into the water at the beginning of the boating season and moved out of the water at the end of the boating season.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mobile dock and hoist which is also capable of being easily dismantled for transportation.

A further object of the invention is to provide hoisting mechanism, which will maintain a boat on an even keel, that is, horizontal, as it is being raised out of or lowered into the water.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combined dock and hoist which is simple in construction, which can be built at a very 2 moderate cost, and which operated very easily.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View, showing a combined dock and hoist built according to one embodiment of this invention in use;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of this combined dock and hoist; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scale and partially in section, showing particularly the structure and mounting of one of the drums and sliding collars of the hoisting mechanism.

Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference, it is seen that the combined dock and hoist comprises a generally rectangularly shaped main frame, a movable trucksupporting the main frame, and hoisting mechanism carried above the main frame. Themain frame is made up preferably of standard iron pipe and consisting ofthe two parallel, spaced, vertical pipes NJ at the rear or on-shore end, the two parallel, spaced, vertical pipes II at the front or elf-shore end, the two parallel, spaced, horizontal pipes I2, which connect pairs of pipes 40 and H at their'uppe ends, the two spaced, parallel, horizontal pipes l3, which connect pairs of pipes it and I l at their lower ends, four or more spaced, parallel, horizontal pipes, which extend transversely between the pair of pipes I2, the two rear side braces l5, and the two front side braces l t.

Connected to the pipes ill by suitable fittings 20, which also serve to connect thepipes l3 and braces 15 with pipes It], are two vertical pipes 2!. These are connected at their lower ends by suitable fittings 22 with a horizontal pipe 23 whose ends project beyond the sides of the frame work and serve to support the cast-iron Wheels 25. Coupled to the pipes H by couplings 25, which also serve for connecting the braces" l5 and pipes l3 to the pipes II, are two turnbuckles 28. These turnbuckles fit at one end into the couplings 26 and at their opposite ends into two vertical pipes 29. The pipes 29 are connected by fittings :30 with ,a horizontal cross pipe 3-: similar to the pipe 23, whose ends project beyond sides of the frame-work and serve as supports for the wheels 35. Angle-iron braces 33 extend diagonally between the pipe 3| and the pipes 13, being suitably connected at their opposite ends to both. Each'of these bra'ces'may be made in two parts connectedby 1a turnbuckle .or

can be handled and equivalent adjustable connection; and the two ends of each brace may be pivotally connected to pipe l3 and fitting 30, respectively. Thereby adjustment of the braces can be effected to accommodate the vertical adjustment of the offshore legs of the dock by the turnbuckles 28. Similar angle-iron braces 34 connect the pipe 23 with the pipes I3.

Suitable fittings 40 connect the pipes I!) with the pipes l2 and rear bracing pipe l4 and with two convergingly inclined pipes 4|. The pipes 4! are connected at their upper ends by suitable fittings 42 with a horizontal pipe 43 that is parallel to pipe [4 and with horizontal pipes 44 that are parallel to pipes l2 and I3. Suitable fittings 45 connect the vertical pipes H with the pipes l2 and front bracing pipe I and with two converging pipes 45 similar to and parallel to, respectively, the two pipes 5|. Suitable fittings 41 connect the pipes 45 with pipes 44 and with a horizontal pipe (not shown) that is parallel to the pipe 43. Suitable fittings 38 and 49 connect the pipes I2 with two pairs of pipes 50 and 5|, respectively, which are arranged parallel to the pairs of pipes ll and 45. Suitable fittings 52 and 53, respectively, connect the pipes 59 and 5|, respectively, with the pipes 44 and with pipes that extend parallel to the pipe The pipe 43 and the three pipes which extend parallel to it carry four pillow blocks 55. Journaled in the two rear pillow blocks 55 is a shaft 56, and journaled in the two front pillow blocks 55 is a shaft 51. These two shafts are connected by a pipe 58 which is keyed to the adjacent ends of the two shafts. The shafts 56 and 51 and connecting pipe 58 constitute, in effect, therefore, a' single shaft.

Keyed or otherwise secured to the shafts 56 and 51, respectively, are two identical cable drums 60. A collar BI is associated with each drum 60. These collars are mounted on the shafts 56 and 51, respectively, to slide freely on those shafts. Each of the cables 52 is secured at one end to a collar BI and at its opposite end to a drum 60. Each of the cables passes through a pulley-block 64 to which there is secured a hook 65. Each drum 60 is preferably provided, as shown, with a helical groove so that the cable associated therewith can more easily be wound thereon or unwound therefrom without fouling.

To lift a boat B out of the water, the hooks B5 are first engaged in links 67. These are connected to eyes 65 which are secured in the boat near its opposite ends. Then, the drums 58 are revolved to wind the cables 62 thereon. To lower the boat into the water again, the drums 6i! are revolved in the opposite direction to unwind the cable therefrom. As the cables wind up on the drums or as the cables unwind from the drums, the sliding collars 6! move on the shafts 56 and 5! maintaining in each case a constant'distance between the end of the cable which is secured to the collar'and the end of the cable at the point of winding on or unwinding from the drum. Thus, the distance between the hooks 65 remains constant during the entire operation of either raising or lowering the boat. The result is that there is no forward or rearward or sideward sway of the boat; it maintains an even level throughout the whole of the raising or lowering operation. This is of marked'advantage in the raising of a small boat particularly and is a great improvement over the prior art.

. The drums may be either hand or power operated. In the construction shown, there is an electric motor 10 mounted on a suitable platform I I which is secured to the rear pipe M. This motor drives a gear reduction which is mounted in the housing 12, and the gear reduction drives a sprocket wheel 13 which is connected by a chain M with a sprocket wheel 15 that is fastened to the shaft 55. The motor 16 is reversible and it is push-button controlled to rotate the drums 55 in either direction.

Mounted at either side of the frame-work are cat-walks H which are supported from the pipes 29 and 2| by brackets 18. Each of the diagonal leg portions of the brackets 18 at the offshore ends of the dock may be made in two pieces connected by a turnbuckle or other suitable adjusting means; and the upper piece of each such diagonal leg or brace may be pivotally connected at its upper end to the horizontal leg of the bracket, which the lower piece of each such diagonal leg may be connected at its lower end to the related pipe 25; Thus, adjustment of the offshore brackets 78 may be made to maintain the catwalks horizontal upon vertical adjustment of the offshore legs of the clock.

The dock and hoist of the present invention is adapted to be rolled into the water at the beginning of the boating season. It is rolled a sufficient distance off shore so that the depth of water l/V will be sufi'icient to permit the boat with which it is to be used to glide over the cross bar 23 without hitting it so that the boat can move freely in or out of the dock. The turnbuckles 28 are then adjusted to adjust the height of the off shore end of the dock to conform to the slope S of the river or lake bottom and to level up horizontally the shafts 56, 5'5 and other normally horizontal parts of the dock. The legs 19 which are pivoted to the undersides of the cat-walks H are then lowered to aid the brackets 18 to support these cat-walks. These legs are pointed at their lower ends to seat in the river or lake bottom.

At the end of each days use the boat can be drawn out of the water and stored clear of the water overnight. The ends of the dock are completely open except for the cross pipes 23 and 3|, and the cross pipes I l and 43. If any painting or other repairs have to be made to the boat, this can readily be done, with the boat out of the water, by using the cat-walks Tl. At the. end of the season, the hoist is rolled out of the water on shore and the boat can be taken off and placed in storage.

While the invention has been described in connection with a mobile dock, certain features of the invention are capable of use in connection with stationary docks or boat-houses. Thus, pairs of drums and collars of the type described may be used on a hoisting shaft in a conventional boat-house ora conventional type hoist for raising or lowering a boat. The pair of sliding collars will maintain the boat level durto which the invention pertains and as may be,

applied to the essential features hereinbefore' set forth and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A movable dock for temporary storage of a boat, comprising a framework open at both ends to permit a boat readily to be moved into or out of the dock between the sides of the framework, supporting means for the framework comprising two pairs of legs, one pair of legs being disposed at the forward end of the dock and the other pair of legs being disposed at the rear end of the dock, a wheel secured to the foot of each leg to permit rolling the dock into and out of the water, said forward pair of legs, at least, being vertically adjustable to compensate for the slope of the bottom on which the wheels rest, and hoisting mechanism mounted on the top of the frame including means attachable to a boat.

2. A movable dock for temporary storage of a boat, comprising a framework open at both ends to permit a boat readily to be moved into or out of the dock between the sides of the framework, two pairs of legs for supporting said framework, one pair of legs being disposed at the forward end of the dock and the other pair of legs being disposed at the rear end of the dock, a wheel secured to each leg at its lower end to permit rolling the dock into and out of water, each of the forward legs, at least, being vertically adjustable to compensate for the slope of the hottom on which the wheels rest, a shaft journalled in the upper part of said framework and extending longitudinally thereof, a pair of axiallyspaced drums fixedly secured to said shaft, a collar associated with each drum and slidably mounted on the shaft, a pair of cables, each of which is secured at one end to one drum and at its opposite end to the collar associated with that drum, a pulley block carried by each cable, means secured to the two pulley blocks for attachment to opposite ends of a boat, respectively, and means for rotating the shaft to raise or lower a boat.

ALTON H. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 193,259 Lewis et a1 July 17, 1877 720,998 Becker Feb. 17, 1903 1,550,114 Simpson Aug. 18, 1925 1,745,053 Romine Jan. 28, 1930 2,092,511 Henry Sept. 7, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 460,059 Germany May 21, 1928 

